Kaduna: El-Rufai Warns Of Another Lockdown As COVID-19 Cases Increase

Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State has disclosed that the state is experiencing a rising rate of COVID-19 infections, warning that the government is considering several options to be able to manage the situation.

El-Rufai said if people refused to wear masks and observe social distancing, he will consider locking down the state once again.”

He urged the citizens to adopt and practice the prevention protocols such as wearing facemasks and avoiding crowded places and large gatherings to enable the state contain the situation without imposing another lockdown.

In a statement issued by the Special Adviser on Media and Communication, Muyiwa Adekeye, on Thursday, Governor el-Rufai conveyed his concern at the 2021 budget signing ceremony which held at Government House on Wednesday.

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Speaking at the event, the governor expressed concern that infection rates are now hovering between 20% and 35%.

The statement quoted the governor as saying that ‘’by August and September, we were down to 1%, 2%, 3% infection rates from samples wetested.

Now, we are hovering between 20% and 35%.’

“The rate of infections is surging and we have now decided that every employee of Kaduna State Government must be tested and no person will be allowed to enter any government office, any hospital, any school, any public facility without mask and maintaining social distancing,’’ he warned.

As part of the measures for managing the situation, the governor said the state will ‘’bring back mobile courts to enforce the wearing of masks because if we don’t do that, these infections will continue to rise and will affect the lives and livelihoods of our people.’’

El-Rufai explained that compliance with Covid-19 prevention protocols represents the most effective and least costly way to contain the
disease.

According to the governor, the state prefers to avoid a lockdown but may have no option if the adherence to prevention controls does not improve.

Adding: “If people refuse to wear masks and observe social distancing, we will consider locking down the state once again. Nobody wants that. We know the impact of that on lives and livelihoods, but we must save lives first.”

The statement appealed to the people of Kaduna State that ‘’COVID-19 is real, it has not gone; it is still there, and it is still a clear and present danger to the lives and livelihoods of our people.’’

The governor noted that ‘’a lot of government business will still have to be done online and through virtual meetings, large gatherings must be prohibited.”